Aerial vessel.



PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

B. OKANE. AERIAL VESSEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1904.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 820,938. PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

B. OKANB'.

AERIAL VESSEL.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 22, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED MAY 15, 1906. B. OKANE. AERIAL VESSEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1904.

No. 820,938. V

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

r plane are combined, t

san'rnonounw I --unnn-n,s'rnrns rarnnrorrion.

. h TO STELLA/ NOEL, OlNOlNNATl, OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent. i

" V Application filed August 22,1904. Barial llmflfllfifita To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that I, BAn'rnoLoMnw OKANE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Cincinnati, in the county 5' of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Aerial Vessel; and I do declare the followin to beaclear, full, and

. exact description t ereof, attention being called to the accompanying three sheetsof 1 drawin s,- with the reference. characters marke thereon, which form also a part of this specification.

Thisinvention'relates. to an aerial vessel in which the principles of arachute and aerolie first to provide buoyancy to aid sustainance in the air in op position to the action of gravitation, the other to producemotion.

The invention consists of the" means and -2 their construction whereby such a vessel is practically roduced'.

.' In the fol owing specification, and particu-' larly ointed outin the claims following, is foun a full descriptionpf the invention, to-

getherwith itsoperation, parts, and con-i struction, which latteris, also illustrated in the accompanying three sheets of drawings,

" in which.

Figure 1 is an end view of the vessel with 3 its propelling membersin operation. Fig. 2

1s a top view of it as it appears in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same as it appears in the two receding; figures and more particularly w en viewed from the left side.

'35 Fig, 4 shows a detail portion, on enlarged "scale, of one of the 'parachute Wings. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of this figurethatis, a section on a horizontal line as this figure is viewed by the observer. Figs. 6 and 7 show t in views similar to Figs. 4 and 5 parts of one of the propeller-wings. Fig. 8 in a view similar to igs. 4 or 6 shows a modified arrangement of the blades of this propeller-wing.

5 proper, resting on and connected to the upperi part-of the frame structure, as best shown 1n igs. 1 and 2. i The larger part of this para- 7 chute consists of a suitableflexible fabric, preferably waterproof, like. rubber or. oil- 9 shows a frame to guide and hold the "like,

F1 he function of the other.

cloth. At various oints along its outer edge y-ropes or ca les 12 are provided, att'ache with their lower ends to the lower part of the frame structure, of which 13 represents the u rights, and 'which uprights are conneate to each other'at their upper and lower en s. ture should be constructed of the lightest material possible and providing at the same time the requisite strength and rigidit Suitable metallic tubing will {be preferab e for this purpose. Supported onthese up.- rights between their ends there is a platform or cab i l to support occupants and to carry mechanism whereby the operating means are 7 actuated. These means, meaning thereby the devices which cause thestructure to rise,

to be maintained at a certain elevation, and to move forward, consist, substantially, of

wings arranged in pairs and disposed so as to project laterally from opposite sides of the frame structure to which they are hingedly connected in a manner to be free to osc1llatethat is, to swing up and down thereon. They are furthei'more connected to each other ina 8 For obvious reasons this frame StI'UG-r oirann, or oiNomNA'ri. oar'o, Assienoa or ONE-HALF.

BB constitute the pairinthe middle, they being of increased projection, and O O are the upper ones, having the largest lateral projection. Each of these wings consists of a skeleton frame embracing parallel-flongitudinal members 15 and 16 at the inner and outer end or edges, connected by parallel intermediate'ribs 17. The inner members15 are 1n each case pivotally attached by brackets 18 to the upright frame members 13, from which they project. The material should here again be as light as compatible with the purpose and may e tubing for members 15 and 16, while the intermediate ribs are pref erabl made from tou h and fibrous wood' fbr instance, the ericanbamboo.

Theupper win s O O form practically a part of the parac ute', or,'what, 1s also the same, part of the parachute operates as a .W111g,-that is, it partakes of the motion of the same, so that one pierforms in part the or such purpose the fabric of the parachute attaches to the parallel longitudinal edges of the upper wmgsOC that is, to the end-ribs 17 thereof-and rests also on the extended ends of inner members.

\ 1515 of these upper win s. At or near their down motion angular outer free edges all the wings on the same side of: the vesselare connected by links t9, so that by operating one of them all wings on that side move. In case of wings A and B these links connect to their outer members 16, while in the case of Wings 0 a stiffeningbar 21 is provided across them to which these links connect. To operate these wings, (as shown in Fig. 1, full lines showing the upper osition of the wings and dotted lines the -ower one) I provide a lever-arm 22 on the inner edge of each of the middle wings B, which by links 23 are attached to a suitable actuating. medium, whereby they are simultaneously operated, as best shown in Figs. 1

and 3. Thisactuating medium may pri-' marily consist .of a crank-shaft, to which these links are 0 eratively connected so as to act together, t e operation beingby man or mechanical power, suitable gearing being interposed to obtain the proper arran ement of speed and power. There is an ad itional wing D, supported on the under side of the cab and connected for operation to one of the upper Wings by means of links 23 and a stiflening bar-24c on such wing.

All the wings are composed of parallel blades 25 (see Fig. 2 and details Figs. 4 to 8) of suitable light and elastic material, these blades being at one of their edges attached to ribs 17, while their other edges are free to yield to the resistance of the air, their return to normal position being due to the elasticity of this material. The wings by their motion swinging up and down do not only lift the structure, but they also sustain the same at elevation and in addition theydrive the structure forward. As tothe lower and middle Wings, this propeller action is a double or compound onethat is, they act in both up and down movementswhile as to the upper wings forward motion is exercised only at the upstroke. The forward motion is due to the individual vibratory motion of the blades'in each wing, which under the resistance of the air, while the wings swing through this latter assume during the up as well as 1posit1ons, operating then as aeroplanes, whic particularly on the upward strokedrive the structure forward.

(See Figs. 6 and 7.)

The upper wings C operate only in'a limited Way, as before stated, and being intended to act mainly as a parachute the blades of these wings do not yield on the downward stroke, so that at that time and also whenever the operative arts are at rest these wings, to ether wit the connected fabric part, form an impenetrable ,surface constitilting the parachute before mentioned and providing the buoyancy, whereby, assisted by the motion of the win s, the structure is sustained inelevation. or such purpose there isa lip 26, against which inwings C the free edges of blades 25 strike on the downward stroke and are prevented from yielding in that direction, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

' The blades in the lower wing D operate the same as in wings B and A. It is not necessary in order to move forward that the wings be operated all the time. 7 Thus, for instance,

after arrived at a'certain elevation, the structure may be left to itself and active operation cease. The parachute and its wings will resist a rapid descent, while blades 25 of the other wingls, being flexed into an angular position by t planes,which drive the descending structure at I the same time forward. Thus progress may be made without driving the structure positively directly forward and by merely relying on this incidental forward action while the struce resistance of the air, act as aeroture is descending. Operated in this man- 7 her the path of motion would represent a zigzag line in a vertical plane. There would be a rising branch in that line representing the rise of the vessel as obtained by active operation of the propellers. At the highest point of this branch and as soon as active operation is stdpped there would begin the descending branch of that line, such part of that line being, however, also inclined forwardly, since by the action of the aeroplanes the descending structure is at the same time driven forward. The lower wing D with its vibrating blades 25 could also be used as a marine propeller to move this or any other vessel through the Water, the action of the blades being similar to that of Sculls. j

27 is the rudder supported by means of a ball-j oint 28 in a bearing contained in a brace 29, sustained between the rear uprights of the frame,

30 is the helm of the rudder. To facilitate its manipulation, I provide a guide-frame 31, (see Fig. 9,) supported on the general frame with the spring, being turned accordingly,

when moving either in the horizontal or upright branch of frame 31. The blades of the propeller-wings A, B, and D may also be ar ranged in a manner to be reversible, so that the direction of motion of the vessel may be changed without turning it around by means of the rudder. For such purpose, referring to Fig.- 8, the. end of ribs 17 are rotatably set in the sides .of members 15 and 16 at the edges of the win s. Each would have a short arm 33, all of w "ch arms are connected to a :shiftenbar 34, whereby all blades are simul seaeae taneousl swung around. This adjustment by suita le links and levers is arrangedso as to be accessible from the cab from whence it jecting on each side'thereof and arranged to have pivotal motion thereon, verticallyspaced wings arranged in pairs pivotally at tached to the sides of the frame, they being provided with feathering-blades and projecting laterally from the frame in opposite d1 rections, feathering-blades provided also in the laterally-projecting parts of the para chute, links'connecting each of the projecting parts mentioned with the wings on the re spective side of the frame and mechanism in the cab for imparting an up-and-down motion to all wings andthe lateral parts of the parachute simultaneously.

i sides of this 2. In an aerial vessel, the combination of a cab, a frame containingupright members between which this cab is sustained, a parachute provided on top of the frame, wings arranged in airs pivotally attached to the atter from which they laterally project in opposite directions, an additional wing pivotally attached at its upper edge to the under side of the cab and to the longitudinal center thereof, from which it pro ects downwardly, linkswhereby this wing and all the laterally-projecting wings are connected for simultaneous movement connected mechanism supported in the cab for imparting such simultaneous movement to the wings. t

3. In an aerial vessel, the combination of a cab, a frame containing upright members be tween which this cab is sustained, a para- "chute provided on top of the frame beyond which it laterally extends on both sides, vertically-spaced wings arranged in pairs pivot- "laterallwproj ectin ally attached to the sides of the frame from whi 'h they project in opposite directions, the portions of the parachute being also arran e to have a pivotal motion on'the frame, lin s connecting these portions of the parachute and all the wings below them on a side for simultaneous movement,

supported with and operatively-' operatively-connected mechanism in, the cab to impart simultaneously to these portions of the parachute and to the wings, an up-anddown motion, feathering-blades provided in the wings and in the movable portions of the parachute, the blades in the wings being arranged so as to be free to yield in opposite direction at the up as well as down stroke of the wings, and stops provided for the blades in the parachute whichprevent these blades from yielding on the downstroke.

i. In an aerial vessel, the combination of a cab, aframe containing upright members between which this cab is sustained, a parachute provided on top'of the frame, which proljects all around beyond the same, thelatera ly-projecting portions of the parachute being arran ed by'means of a pivotal connection to the ame to be capable of having an up-and-down motion thereon, wings pivotally attached to the sides of the frame and below the parachute, they being arranged in pairs and projecting laterally from the frame,-

an additional wing pivotally attached below the cab to the longitudinal center thereof, links whereby this wing, the laterally-pro jecting wings and the movable portions'of the parachute are all connected for simultaneous movement and operatively-connecte I mechanism carried on the cab to impart such movement.

5. In an aerial vessel, the combination of means'for effecting elevation and motion, a rudder for steering, a frame to guide the helm of this rudder, a brace on which this helm is a ba1l-joint permitting adjustment in horizontal as wellas vertical directions, and means to hold this helm in ad justed position.

6. In an aerial vessel, the combination of means for effecting elevation and motion, a rudder for steering, a frame, having horizontal and vertical branches to guide the helm of the rudder, the end of which helm is adapted to move in these provided in this end to hold the helm in adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my signature in the presence of two witnesses. BARTHOLOMEW OKANE.

Witnesses: i

Cl Srnns L, Jonn Sonora guides and a friction-sprlng 

